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Some of our readers have emailed me asking for information about What's On in St Helens over the 2007 Festive Period. I have done some research and managed to find out the following - with many thanks to St Helens Council

Late night Town Centre Christmas Shopping. This will run until 8pm on Thursday 29 November and until 9pm every following Thursday until Christmas.

The week beginning Monday 17 December will see the shops staying open until 8pm every night up to and including Saturday 22 December.

Sunday opening will be from 10am – 4pm (Church Square Shopping Centre) and from 10.30pm – 4.30pm (Hardshaw Centre). It does make you wonder why they trade differently on Sunday!

For those last minute gifts, both the Hardshaw Centre and Church Square Shopping Centre will open until 5.30pm on Christmas Eve.

As Christmas Day draws closer, the magical "Ex Terra Lucem" lantern procession will grace the Town Centre on Thursday 13 December, winding its way through the streets.

Taking part will be 4 local schools plus other members of the community plus Helena Housing and the World of Glass who will produce 150 hand made lanterns. Meeting at St.Helens Parish Church, the procession will start at 6.30pm - with approximatley 350 participants. The procession will be led by the award-winning 50 piece Batala Samba Band (previous winners of the Notting Hill Carnival and they opened the new Wembley at the England v Brazil game)The Route - Church Square > Hardshaw Street >Victoria Square > Cotham Street > Ormskirk Street > Church Street and then returning to Church Square.

On Sunday, December 16th, St.Helens Council's Ranger Service will be holding a 'Feed the Birds' event at Sankey Valley Country Park Visitors Centre, Blackbrook.It will begin at 10.30am and will provide helpful tips for feeding birds throughout the winter. There will also be a a short illustrated talk, practical demonstrations, bird cake making and a short walk if the weather is favourable. This event is limited to 20 places so to book a place, or for more details, please telephone 01744 677772.

There will be mince pies and a school choir at St.Helens Central Library, Victoria Square on Monday, December 17 from 10am to 1pm.Children from the nearby Parish Primary School will be singing a selection of favourite Christmas carols and everyone is welcome to join in the festive fun.

On 18 December a Christmas Fayre is taking place at Nutgrove Primary School in order to raise funds for a proposed new nature trail and outdoor learning centre in the grounds below the school.

Get in the Christmas mood and celebrate with a traditional carol concert in Mesnes Park, Newton le Willows, St.Helens on Thursday, December 13 (7-8pm).The Valley Youth Band will be there and members of the public can take part in the concert which will have a full repertoire of traditional carols. For further details of the event, organised by the Friends of Mesnes Park and St. Helens Council Rangers, contact 01925 229021

The following Thursday (20 December) will see the traditional carol concert returning to the Parish Church in Church Square, featuring a brass band and followed by hot chocolate and mince pies. Mmmm sounds lovely!

Delight in a traditional Christmas with the New Cross Singers and St.Helens Sinfonietta who will perform a programme of traditional carols at the United Reformed Church on Saturday 22nd December at 7.30pm. Tickets Cost £5.00, students and under 16 are half price.

On Sat 8th-December the award-winning Cowley Girl Singers are performing a range of traditional christmas carols for us at Sutton Oak Welsh Chapel on Lancots Lane. It all starts at 7:30pm, the doors open at: 7:00pm.admission: £3:00-please pay on the door All monies raised on the night go towards the re-wiring of the chapel.

On Fri 21st of December-the Welsh Chapel Society will be singing Christmas Carols with the public, with their extra special Christmas evening. The event starts at: 7:30pm, doors open: 7:00pm.donations are welcome, but they are not charging anyone for this extra special evening. It will be the first of many events at the chapel coming in the year 2008.

For more information about the St.Helens 2007 Christmas events programme please log on to http://www.visitsthelens.com/ or contact St.Helens Tourist Information Centre on 01744 755150.

Other events taking place in St Helens during the festive season include:

Well the headline is designed to grab your attention and we hope it did!

If you are in St Helens, Merseyside and involved with a local school. charity, volounteer organisation or other worthy cause then Domino's Pizza have a limited number of free pizza vouchers to give away this Festive Season as Raffle Prizes at any forthcoming events you may have planned.

These are local vouchers and are only redeemable at St Helens Domino's Pizza, but will have a value of up to £13.99 so can be redeemed against any large pizza on a regular base. There are the usual Terms & Conditions of Use but nothing too stringent.

So, how do you get hold of one of these vouchers?.

Just send an email to sthelensdominos@googlemail.com explaining a little bit of information about your organisation, a contact phone number and a postal address and Domino's will get one out to you as soon as possible.

With the festive period approaching and christmas shopping in full swing, Merseyside Police in St Helens is urging local people not to let car thieves ruin their Christmas.

Each year, the number of thefts from parked cars and other vehicles increases around Christmas time, with newly-bought presents a key target for thieves. This year police officers in St Helens aim to build upon their recent success in tackling car crime by making sure that members of the public protect their vehicles

Police Officers, including Community Support Officers, Crime Reduction Officers and the Special Constabulary, will be targeting busy shopping areas and hotspots for car crime across St Helens, handing out crime prevention advice. In addition, a highly visible ad van promoting the message 'If it's on show, it's gonna go' will be seen out and about around busy retail parks and hotspot area and the message will also be advertised on the back of carpark tickets.

Remove all valuables

Police want to remind people "Don't make it easy for car thieves" - urging them to ensure that they remove all valuables from their cars. Officers are also asking that whilst doing the Christmas shopping, residents and visitors don't go back to their car half way through and leave presents in the boot, or on a back seat, before returning to the shops.

Chief Inspector Shaun Holland said: "Police officers in St Helens have worked tirelessly with members of the public to reduce incidents of car crime. If we all take some simple steps, such as removing items from view, and making sure you don't make yourself an easy target by putting presents in the car and leaving it again, we can all reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of car crime. If you see anyone acting suspiciously around vehicles, call Merseyside Police on 0151 709 6010.

Covert policing

"Thieves will take any opportunity presented to them - sometimes for very little reward - simply because they can. Our message is that we can stop the thieves, by taking simple steps and not making yourself an easy target."

The awareness campaign will be support by high-profile and covert policing across the borough to track down potential thieves.

Chief Inspector Holland added: "Our message to car thieves is beware - we have the means to stop you. We'd urge anyone who has information about car crime to report offenders to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, so that police can work to take them off the streets and put them before the courts."

The fayre is being held in the Church Hall of St.Helens Parish Church in Church Square from 10am until 4pm and the Mayor Cllr Sheila Seddon and Mayoress Mrs Ann Forrest will be helping out during the day.

So pop in while you are out doing your Christmas shopping and lend your support to these two worthy causes.

The HoneyRose Foundation supports terminally ill adults by providing them with memorable events such as special days out or weekends away and the District Sports Council aims to enhance quality of life by promoting physical, active and healthier lifestyles through sport.

National Consumer Week starts on 17th November and this year's theme is 'Be a Savvy Shopper this Christmas'.The week will focus on helping people to avoid the Christmas shopping pitfalls.St Helens Council Trading Standards Team will be out and about at five of the Borough’s libraries offering top tips and advice to residents this Christmas.There will displays at the following libraries all week and a member of the Trading Standards Service will be present in the afternoon, for half a day:• Central Library Thursday 20thVictoria Square• Rainhill Community Library Saturday 22ndView Road• Thatto Heath Community Library Monday 17thThatto Heath Road• Moss Bank Community Library Monday 17thEskdale Avenue• Eccleston Library Saturday 22nd BroadwayNational Consumer Week starts on 17th November and this year's theme is 'Be a Savvy Shopper this Christmas'.The week will focus on helping people to avoid the Christmas shopping pitfalls.St Helens Council Trading Standards Team will be out and about at five of the Borough’s libraries offering top tips and advice to residents this Christmas.There will displays at the following libraries all week and a member of the Trading Standards Service will be present in the afternoon, for half a day:• Central Library Thursday 20thVictoria Square• Rainhill Community Library Saturday 22ndView Road• Thatto Heath Community Library Monday 17thThatto Heath Road• Moss Bank Community Library Monday 17thEskdale Avenue• Eccleston Library Saturday 22ndBroadway

Residents are being asked to tick one box for their favourite player on the list but also have the chance to put forward their own choice if it is not one of the six.

You can also request a copy of the postcard by contacting the Council’s Press and PR Office on 01744 456166/5.

Council Leader Brian Spencer said: “This tribute is long overdue. The statue will be placed on one of the most prominent gateway sites into the Borough which will fittingly be near the site of the proposed new stadium site.

“The club have been marvellous ambassadors for our Borough and we thought it was time we chose to honour the club for their sporting and community achievements over their long and prestigious history. I am very proud to progress this initiative in recognition of a world class sporting club which is such a vital part of our Borough’s past, present and future.”

In 2001 the Council awarded the club Freedom of the Borough status following its record breaking sporting achievements.

Talks have already begun with a sculptor to discuss the project brief and the player with the most votes will be announced at the end of November.

St Helens Supercoach Daniel Anderson has revealed his intention to return to the NRL in 2009 in a move which will put further heat on local Aussie coaches to perform next season.

The 40-year-old, who guided the Warriors to the NRL grand final in 2002, said he hoped to return to the Australian rugby league scene when he relocated his family to Sydney at the end of next season.

"I'd love to," Anderson told The Sun-Herald.

"Obviously, it's hard to break into it but I always want to be involved in rugby league. If I'm fortunate, I'll get another opportunity to do something in Sydney for the game.

"We're looking forward to coming home after a long time away. I've never coached an NRL team in Australia before and it's definitely a goal I'd like to achieve.

"It's a family-based decision … It's time to let the kids settle down, get some friends and work out where we'll live for a few years."

The former Kiwi Test coach, who rejected lucrative offers to extend his stay at Knowsley Road, is considered one of the most astute mentors in England.

He is the latest recipient of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award, an honour previously bestowed upon Sir Alex Ferguson, Clive Woodward and José Mourinho.

His return to Australia also puts the heat on Sydney-based NRL coaches to perform, as the clubs know a capable replacement is waiting in the wings.

Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens is off contract at end of next year, while Matthew Elliott (Panthers), Nathan Brown (Dragons), Brian Smith (Knights) and Brad Fittler (Roosters) are all expected to come under increasing pressure to perform.

Anderson said he would return to Australasia a much-improved coach after his overseas postings.

"Absolutely, you're a better coach every year you coach.

"I'm fortunate I've had some experience with New Zealand as an international coach, with the Warriors in Auckland and St Helens in the Super League.

"I'm very lucky I've got some experience and I'm lucky to have worked with some hall-of-famers who have developed me as a coach as well."

Daniel is pictured above with Simon Pickles from Domino's Pizza who kindly agreed to Daniel's request for a photo!!

This is a shortened version a the news release by St Helens Council. For full details please see the contact details at the bottom of the post.

A wide-ranging consultation exercise has been launched in order to update and revise the private sector led St.Helens City Growth Strategy (CGS), which acts as the business plan for "St.Helens plc".

The original 10-year CGS was launched in 2003 following St.Helens’ selection by then Chancellor Gordon Brown as one of only 4 national pilot areas for this ground-breaking economic development initiative pioneered at Harvard Business School in the US. The decision to update and revise the CGS after less than 5 years has been taken because the vast majority of the 60 original projects identified have either been completed or are well on the way to being delivered.

Key CGS achievements include the provision of new business premises, the start on site of 3 new Urban Villages comprising 2,200 new homes, the comprehensive upgrading of the town centre’s public realm, an iconic new Central Station, the "Brand New St.Helens" integrated marketing initiative just launched, plus the selection of the former Sutton Manor colliery as one of only seven UK sites for a Channel 4 Big Art Project. Meanwhile the St.Helens Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) has already helped create more than 550 new businesses and 1,250 new jobs.

The CGS consultation document sets out initial views on the important issues for the future development of the St.Helens economy. It has been produced by the St.Helens Enterprise Forum - a private sector led sub-group of St Helens Chamber Board responsible for overseeing the delivery of CGS and LEGI - working closely with St Helens Council.

The original CGS vision for St.Helens to become established as "A vibrant modern place for enterprise and a regional location of choice" has been retained in the revised draft strategy. The four key themes are also largely the same, namely:

Theme A: Transforming the Business Base: growing the number of businesses, diversifying and strengthening the business base, and increasing the number of people in employment.

Steve Gange, HR Director at Pilkington’s and Chair of the St.Helens Enterprise Forum. comments: "This is a great time to be setting up or growing a business in St.Helens. The economy is going from strength to strength and the transformation of the Borough over the last 4 years, particularly in terms of its physical appearance, has been remarkable.

We still face a number of challenges however and that is why revising the CGS is important, to help identify priorities and projects to build on and maintain our recent success.

We are fortunate in St Helens that the views of local businesses are taken very seriously by the public sector. CGS is intended to be a private sector led initiative and it is therefore vital that as many businesses as possible take the opportunity to have their say now, just as they did with the initial City Growth Strategy."

Cllr. Neil Taylor, Executive Member for Urban Regeneration at St.Helens Council, adds "It is a reflection of the pace of successful regeneration in St.Helens that we are radically updating our 10-year City Growth Strategy after only 4 years!

St.Helens is well on its way to becoming established as a vibrant, modern place for enterprise and a regional location of choice, reflected in the fact that Barclay’s Bank found us to be one of the top 11 places in terms of business start up growth last year.

The consultation findings will inform the growth of "St.Helens plc" for the next ten years, making this a real opportunity for people to shape the Borough’s future, so please complete the survey and tell us what you think!"

The consultation period runs until Friday 14 December, and anyone wanting to have their say should fill out the brief questionnaire online at www.sthelenscgs.com. Two open consultation events have also been organised on Monday 19th November from 5pm-7pm and Thursday 22nd November from 8:30am-10:30am. Both will take place at St Helens Chamber.

St Helens Chat is one of St Helen's most popular websites bringing together locals and expats in a friendly environment. With links, local history and a vast library of images this site is a great resource for locals and visitors alike.